Hydroaeroplane



J. W. BOWEN, S. M. HART, AND J. E. BOWEN.-

HYDROAEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN,3.1922.

Patented A11 29, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

1. W. BOWEN, S. M. HART, AND J. E. BOWEN. HYDROAEROPLANE.

APPLHIATION FILED JAN.3, I922. 1,427,257. Patented g- 29, 1922.

s SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. W. BOWEN, S. M. HART, AND J. E. BOWEN.

HYDROAEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED J AN.3| I922- 1,4272 57 I v Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Ma Lu LOHICH LVh ruznuwhunuo J. W. BOWEN, S. M. HART, AND J. E. BOWEN.HYDRUAEROPLANE.

APPLICATION men mna. 1922.

1 27,257. Pa ented Aug. 29, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4- 1. w. BOWEN, s. M. HABIT, AND E. BOWEN.

HYDROAEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.3, I922;

Patentd Aug. 29, 1922.

W 1: 1112mm 6 $HEETS-SHEET 6.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

HYDROAEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 3.1922.

J. W. BOWEN, S. M. HART, AND J. E. BOWEN.

UNITED STATES Ml CHLISIHGH PATENT OFFICE.

JENKIN W. BOWEN, STANLEY M. HART, AND JOHN E. BOWEN, OF PUEBLO,COLORADO.

HYDROAEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

Application filed January 3, 1922. Serial No. 526,627.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, JENKIN XV. BownN,STANLEY M, HART, and JOHN E. BownN, citizens of the United States,residing at Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo, State of Colorado, haveinvented a new and useful Hydroaeroplane, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to hydroaeroplanes and more particularly to anaeroplane which can be used to travel both on the surface of a body ofwater as well as beneath the surface.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a structure of thischaracter having sustaining planes capable of being folded against thesides of the body whereby the entire structure can travel upon thesurface of the water or, by the use of a proper control, can be causedto submerge and travel under water. Kifi'tl'fir omect" is to provide astructure of this character having a propeller for driving the samewhile in flight but which propeller can be collapsed against the bodywhen the structure is in use as a surface or submarine boat, asupplemental propeller being provided for driving the structure on or inthe water.

Another object is to provide a novel construction of sustaining plane orwing where by the same can be collapsed into the smallest space possiblewhen not in use for soaring.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the com bination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope ofwhat is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionshown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of the device, the wings beingshown by dotted lines in folded or collapsed positions,

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on line 44, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section on line 5-5, Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of thefront or nose portion of the device, the positions of the propellerblades when collapsed being shown by dotted lines.

Figure 7 is a section on line 7-7, F igure 6.

Figure 8 is a section on line 88, Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a section through one of the serles of spring controlledspools used for st ffening the sections on the sustaining wings,

Figure 10 is a section on line 10-10, Figuse 9.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates thebody or hull of the structure, the same being preferably taperedrearwardly as shown in figure 1 and having a front nose 2 in which maybe provided windows 3. It is to be understood of course that suitablemeans may be provided whereby persons can easily enter and leave thestructure, said means, however, serving to tightly seal the body when itis used on or below the surface of a body of water. One of the closuresor hatches to be used on the body has been indicated at 4.

There is provided at the rear end of the body a vertical rudder or tailplane 5 and a horizontal rudder or tail plane 6, it being understoodthat any suitable mechanism, not shown, may be provided for actuatingthese parts so as to control the direction of movement of the structureeither while in flight or while traveling over or under the surface of abody of water.

Formed longitudinally within the sides of the body 1 are channels 7 andjournaled within the front end portions of these channels are verticalshafts 8 each having a crank 9. Gears 10 are secured to the shaft andmesh with gears 11 secured to the ends of the transverse shaft 12. Thisshaft is adapted to be rotated by a hand lever 13 or the like which canbe secured in any position to which it may be adjusted, a dog 14 andtoothed segment 14 being preferably provided for this purpose.

Pivotally mounted within each channel 7 at regular intervals are arms orribs 18, their points of connection with the upper and lower walls ofthe channel being indicated at 15. Secured to each of these ribs 18 is aplane or wing section 15 which extends over the next adjoining section15 as shown in Figure 1. Each section 15 is con nected to the nextadjoining section by links 16 and the front section of each sustainingplane or wing is connected by links 17 to a rib 18 carried by the crank9 of shaft 8. Obviously when the cranks on the two shafts 8 are extendedinwardly toward each other as shown in Figure 3 the ribs 18 are drawninwardly at their inner ends and pull, through the links 17 upon theseries of links 16, thus to hold the sections 15 extended laterally andin lapped relation as shown by full lines in Figure 1. As the ribs 18are fixedly connected to the cranks 9 and cannot swing relative thereto,it will be apparent that by rotating shaft 12, the two cranks S) will beswung forwardly and outwardly and will impart an outward and rearwardswinging movement to the ribs 18. Thus links 17 will thrust against aseries of links 16 and cause the ribs 13 to swing backwardly on theirfulcrums 15 with the several wing sections 15 superposed in lappedrelation as shown by dotted lines in Figure 1.

Extending upwardly and downwardly from the body 1 are studs 19 on eachof which is mounted a series of spools 2O arranged one upon the other.Each spool has a spring 21 therein, one end of the spring being attachedto the stud 19 while the other end is attached to the spool 20. Securedto each spool are oppositely extending cables 22, one of these cablesbeing attached to the outer end of one of the ribs of one sustainingplane while the other cable is attached to the outer end of one of theribs of the other sustaining plane. The cables on each spool areconnected to corresponding ribs on the respective planes. The springs 21are normally under tension so as to hold the cables taut. Thus when thesections of the wings are swung backwardly as shown by dotted lines inFigure 1 the springs will maintain the cables taut and, when the wingsare swung outwardly to active position the cables will remain taut andserve to keep the wings sufliciently rigid. As a set of spools isprovided underneath as well as above the body it will be obvious thatcables extending upwardly and downwardly from the wings will pullagainst each other and thus cooperate to hold the wings sufiicientlyrigid to resist upward or downward strains exerted thereagainst.

For the purpose of propelling the structure while in flight, an enginedriven shaft 23 is journaled in the nose of the body 1 and has keyedthereon collars 24: forming sockets 25 therebetween, there being slots26 in the rear collar 24; which open into the respective sockets.lVithin the sockets 25 are journaled cylindrical heads 27 provided atthe inner ends of stems 28 extending from the inner ends of propellerblades 29. These stems 28 are designed to swing within the slots 26 sothat the blades 29 will lie close to the nose of the body 1 as shown bydotted lines in Figure 6. A cap 30 is slidable on the projecting forwardend of the shaft 23 and has openings 31 through which the stems 28project. This cap obviously rotates with the shaft and with thepropeller blades. An annular groove 32 is formed in the cap and has aring 33 therein connected to the ends of a yoke The arms of this yokeare slidable within openings 35 in the nose of the body 1 and the innerend of the yoke is connected by a slidable rod 36 to a shifting lever87. Thus it will be seen that when the blades 25) are to be used forpropelling the structure through the air, the cap 30 is shiftedforwardly so as to hold the stems 28 radially relative to the shaft 23.lVhen the structure is to travel on or below the surface of a body ofwater, however, the yoke 34 is shifted so that the cap 30 is drawnbackwardly and will swing the stems 28 rearwardly. This will positionthe blades 29 in the collapsed or inclined positions indicated by dottedlines in Figure 6. Thus they will not interfere seriously with thepropulsion of the structure on or within a body of water.

A supplemental propeller 38 similar to the ordinary screw propeller canbe provided under the back portion of the body 1 for the purpose ofdriving the structure on or below the surface of a body of water. Thisscrew propeller is protected by a skid 3!) so that it will not beinjured when the structure is landing after a flight above the ground orabove the surface of the water.

It is to be understood that the body 1 can be provided with acompartment 38 in the bottom thereof for receiving water ballast wherebythe submerging of the structure can be effected readily. Furthermore atransverse shaft 39 can be mounted under the body and can have divingplanes 4E0 connected to the ends thereof. This shaft has a crank arm 41slotted as shown at 42 for en gagement with a pin 13 carried by ashifting rod a l. This rod is slidably mounted in a post 45 and isnotched, as shown at 46 so as to be engaged by spring pressed holdingpin 47 whereby the rod will be held in any position to which it may beshifted by pressing or pulling thereon.

It will be obvious that a structure such as described can be propellednot only through the air and off of the surface of the ground or waterbut also on the surface of a body of water or below the surface. Thenecessary adjustment orshifting of the various operative parts can beeffected readily by the means that have been described.

lVhat is claimed is 1. The combination with a body adapted to be sealedand having longitudinal channels in the sides thereof, of a series oflapping wing sections at each side of the body, each section of eachseries being pivotally mounted within the adjacent channel, connectionsbetween the sections of each series, means operated from within the bodyfor simultaneously swinging all of said sections backwardly and inwardlythereby to fold them against the sides of the body and within thechannels.

2. The combination with a body adapted to be sealed, there beingchannels along the sides of the body, of a series of wing sections ateach side of the body, the sections of each series being pivotallymounted within the adjacent channel, connections between the sections ofeach series, a crank shaft mounted for rotation within each channel, andmeans operated by the rotation of the crank shafts for folding the wingsections backwardly and inwardly against the sides of the body and forextending said sections outwardly from the body.

3. In a structure of the class described the combination with a bodyadapted to be sealed and having channels along the sides thereof, ofnormally lapping wing sections arranged in series at each side of thebody, the sections of each series being pivotally mounted within theadjacent channel, means operated from within the body for folding saidsections rearwardly and inwardly against the body and for extending themlaterally from the body, and flexible bracing means extending from theouter ends of the sections to the top and bottom portions of the body.

4. In a structure of the class described the combination with, a bodyadapted to be sealed, and tiltable planes connected to the bottom of thebody and controllable from within the body, of a sustaining plane ateach side of the body, each plane comprising a plurality of lappingsections connected to the body by individual pivots, means operable fromwithin the body for shifting said sections simultaneously to fold themrearwardly against the sides of the body or to extend them laterallyfrom the @body, a

Ul dl Lhllldli screw propeller at the rear end of the body, an airpropeller at the front end of the body, and means operable from withinthe body for folding the blades of the air propeller against the body orfor shifting them to active positions.

5. In a structure of the class described the combination with a bodyhaving channels extending along the sides thereof, of sustaining planesat the side of the body, each plane including a plurality of lappingsections having individual fulcrums within the adjacent channel, linkconnections between the sections of each plane, a crank shaft journaledwithin each channel, a rib fixedly connected to each crank shaft and tothe adjacent plane section, and means operable from within the body forrotating the crank shaft to fold the plane sections against the sides ofthe body or to extend said sections laterally to sustaining positions.

6. In a structure of the class described the combination with a bodyhaving channels extending along the sides thereof, of sustaining planesat the sides of the body, each plane includin a plurality of lappingsections having individual fulcrums within the adjacent channel, linkconnections between the sections of each plane, a crank shaft journaledwithin each channel, a rib fixedly connected to each crank shaft and tothe adjacent plane section, and means operable from within the body forrotating the crank shaft to fold the plane sections against the sides ofthe body or to extend said sections laterally to sustaining positionsand yieldingly held stay devices extending from the outer ends of thesections to the top and bottom respectively of the body.

11 testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have heretoaflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

JENKIN W. BOWEN. STANLEY M. HART. JOHN E. BOWEN. Witnesses:

WILLIAM F. OARWELL, C. F. W. E.

